Elizabeth Debicki to Play Ayesha in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Elizabeth Debicki's role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. was revealed earlier this evening at Marvel Studios' big Hall H presentation at SDCC. Debicki will play Ayesha, a character with deep ties to Adam Warlock and the rest of the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe.

In the comics, Ayesha is better known as Kismet or Her, an artificial superpowered being created by the Citadel of Science in the same manner as Adam Warlock. After emerging from her transformative cocoon, Kismet searched for Warlock to mate with him but was ultimately rejected. She repeatedly sought out a romantic partner among Marvel's various heroes, but all her attempts at finding a lover fell short. Her closest companion was the superhero Quasar. In an alternate timeline, the Guardian of the Galaxy Starhawk is the son of Quasar and Kismet.

Gunn elaborated on Debicki's role in the movie in a recent Facebook post, saying that "Ayesha is the golden High Priestess of a genetically-perfect people called the Sovereign. She's not a woman to be screwed with – she, and her entire world, are extraordinarily deadly."

Debicki's first major film role was in the 2013 version of The Great Gatsby, where she played Jordan Baker. She also played the villain in The Man from UNCLE and had a supporting role in Everest.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is written and directed by James Gunn and stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn, Glenn Close, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, and Kurt Russell.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 comes out May 5, 2017.